Stair-climbing apparatus mounted on wheelchairs are known. For the most part, these devices are battery powered, motor driven, and not collapsible, making it difficult for the user to independently load the wheelchair into a car when traveling from one location to another, so as to have the wheelchair available at the succeeding locations. These wheelchairs are heavy and bulky, and not generally collapsible so as to be readily loadable independently into a car by the user.